TurnipFritters
Member
perhaps that is what he should have said then.
it is a rape reference, and surprise, that actually upsets people. get over it.
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Sooo.. that "rape joke" during the Killer Instinct demo [Microsoft apologizes]
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perhaps that is what he should have said then.
it is a rape reference, and surprise, that actually upsets people. get over it.
Sure, rape is a misused word when it comes to games. "I'm getting raped", things like that, that's obvious.
However, I did not react to this, at all. She was legitimately getting beaten during the fight. He obviously knew some good combos and was hitting down on her, hard. She was like "Who thought this was a good idea?!" "Don't worry, it'll be over soon", as a legitimate "I'm beating you, obviously, but don't worry".
I thought it was awkward "banter", but I think it's overreaching saying it was a rape-joke. OK, apparently people made the connection, but the discussion becomes if everyone needs to ensure they don't say anything that's of wrong connotation, or if those making the connection need to calm down.
I'd like to think it's a bit of both, and in this case, I think it's overreaching.
But that's what he said. Having to be that specific to avoid ANY interpretation is luckily not how language works. We work a lot on assumptions. "[The match] will be over soon". It. It will be over soon. C'mon.
TurnipFritters
Member
i mean you should probably be more mindful of your phrasing when you're a presenter at a conference in front of thousands of people
there are plenty of ways he could have phrased it to not make it sound creepy. there are ways he could have phrased it to make it actually funny. but he chose poorly.
This is my take as well. It was pretty awkward but in a way that just wasn't expected by anyone involved. I'm sure if it was scripted there would have been a rewrite.
MisterSamMan
Member
That entire conversation was awkward, but that was definitely not a rape joke or at least not intended to be one.
AngelsDontBurn
Banned
Yeah, I think this is overreacting just a bit. I don't think Microsoft would let a "rape joke" through considering it could get them in serious shit. Relax.
SRTtoZ
Member
It was a split second decision used to make a joke. Give the guy a break. Just because YOU interpret something a certain way does not mean other people did the same. A lot of people had no problem with what he said.
K
kittens
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah, that line was in poor taste at best. I thought it was pretty shitty.
Also, we need to stop pretending Patricia Hernandez and Kotaku are the only people concerned about sexism in gaming culture. That joke is old, and honestly really dismissive.
Also, we need to stop pretending Patricia Hernandez and Kotaku are the only people concerned about sexism in gaming culture. That joke is old, and honestly really dismissive.
Very valid point. Maybe it's more important that we recognize their mistake, and not go all :monocle: on them. It comes off as a bit highbrow and overreaching making a fuzz out of it. It's a very, very valid discussion, and one I love to partake in. I just hope no one spit their coke over this.
I had no idea.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Setting aside the greater debate over whether the subtext of the dialogue was of a sexual nature:
That was basically 90 straight seconds worth of reasons you shouldn't play the game. Nothing about that presentation made playing the game look fun at all. It just made everything look shitty and frustrating, from the lopsided nature of the fight itself, to the forced trash-talk, to the implication that buying a 100 dollar joystick makes you automatically better at the game...
They straight up sold an experience of pure frustration and almost nothing else.
Terrible marketing.
That was basically 90 straight seconds worth of reasons you shouldn't play the game. Nothing about that presentation made playing the game look fun at all. It just made everything look shitty and frustrating, from the lopsided nature of the fight itself, to the forced trash-talk, to the implication that buying a 100 dollar joystick makes you automatically better at the game...
They straight up sold an experience of pure frustration and almost nothing else.
Terrible marketing.
Yeah, I feel bad for the guy. I mean, how easy is this job:
Get on stage, play a round of a fighting game against a girl while engaging in light, charming banter, while roughly a million people watch.
Instead, you drop some incredibly awkward banter that sounds a lot like a rape joke.
As nerds, can't we all kind of identify with that?
Get on stage, play a round of a fighting game against a girl while engaging in light, charming banter, while roughly a million people watch.
Instead, you drop some incredibly awkward banter that sounds a lot like a rape joke.
As nerds, can't we all kind of identify with that?
goldsoundz
Member
Unbelievable. I would have never thought what he said was related to rape in any way.
Now I am offended since you guys brought this up.
Now I am offended since you guys brought this up.
Everything in gaming is against women. EVERYTHING.
MWS Natural
Member
But she couldn't play the game...
Chuck Norris
Banned
My eyes are rolling into the back of my skull over this "controversy"
Yeah, get someone up there with a proven chemistry, and ensure it'll be on the bar. Then you can validly sell the arcade stick. It felt like the token guy and girl thing, and the banter felt so forced, and they were nervous and not comfortable on stage. The guy wanted to show off some good combos he obviously knew, rather reminiscent of Akuma's combos to me, and at the same time was supposed to keep the conversation alive.
Give the guy a break. Playing a game in development for a showcase for thousands of people and the entire internet can't be easy. I think it either should've been scripted and rehearsed well, or a couple of people with honestly good chemistry. But imagine being this guy, and the internet is accusing you of a rape-joke? That's not cool.
At least this wasn't anywhere near that honestly sexist banter in that gaming show thingie. I forget what it was.
kerotan_eater
Banned
Rape joke? I truly don't think so. Overreaction? Somewhat.
A part of me thinks that it was not the kind of joke to say, especially if you can't say it without saying it awkwardly.
That's stuff only professional comedians get away with, and even then I wouldn't bet on it.
A part of me thinks that it was not the kind of joke to say, especially if you can't say it without saying it awkwardly.
That's stuff only professional comedians get away with, and even then I wouldn't bet on it.
...what else could it possibly be referencing?
I mean, I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever heard, but there's really only one way to interpret that sentence
Zen_Arcade
Banned
Guys, it was a stage presenter awkwardly trying to mimic what people say when playing multiplayer games. Has no one here ever played on Xbox Live before?
Well, sorry, but she sucked on the game. And if I'm not allowed to say that, then I'd argue that you're sexist.
MegaKungFuRadio
Member
I typically am on the side that feels like people overreact and are too sensitive about things like this, but even I thought that choice of words was extremely inappropriate.
Of course they didn't mean to reference rape, but unfortunately, that's exactly what the words "Just let it happen, it will be over soon" imply.
Of course they didn't mean to reference rape, but unfortunately, that's exactly what the words "Just let it happen, it will be over soon" imply.
I thought rape when I heard it. Though I can't say if I'd still have thought that had it been two men playing. I certainly didn't think it was a threat or insult, but those phrases have rape connotations. Kind of along the lines of other rape-related phrases like getting "screwed over," etc.
I just think the setting and that there was a woman involved made it seem more apparent in this case, especially with all the light being shone on sexism in online multiplayer games.
I just think the setting and that there was a woman involved made it seem more apparent in this case, especially with all the light being shone on sexism in online multiplayer games.
Zoe
Member
I think of death/torture scenes such as the Saving Private Ryan scene.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
But again, like I said in my previous post: Why would you try to sell THAT as the experience you're going to have?
You never want to sell the reality of something. You want to sell the IDEAL of that thing.
IDEALLY, Killer Instinct should look like it's a fun game to play. This presentation didn't do that. It made it look confusing and ugly and frustrating. The experience that was sold was one where you go online, get kneecapped by a douchebag with better equipment than you have who can't wait to tell you all about it.
I immediately took it as a rape joke when it happened live. It should never have been said, and Microsoft should publicly excoriate the man who said it. It's yet another in a long line of anti-woman incidents in the gaming industry, and it's especially egregious when it happens during a "global media presentation" as Microsoft called its E3 press conference today.
No.
Not everyone's mind goes right to rape, and if yours does I am sorry.
Deciding what everyone must mean when they speak or express something is the problem with the world today.
WrenchNinja
Member
What gaming goodness
The fight. On screen. In the fighting game?
Not the imaginary rape scenario you're making up in your head.
Yeah I can see why people who think its a rape joke but this is clearly what he meant...
Brawndo Addict
Banned
Gaming side GAF seems to be physically incapable of accepting, let alone maturely discussing, even the most basic problems of gender and race in the gaming industry and now we expect them to acknowledge rape culture? The demographics of GAF in that respect are like the Republican party, a bunch of men telling women whether something qualifies as a rape joke and whether its valid for them to feel offended as if they're the experts on the whole issue. Yeah, we definitely should defer to the authority of men in determining all this, why would we care what women think about it?
This was a rape joke no question about it, sorry if you're so removed that you can't acknowledge that. It doesn't have to be overt and actually say the word rape to qualify (although there's plenty of that to go around online); things can be racist without saying you believe whites are the supreme race. There's that quote by Margaret Atwood that really sums up the complete dissonance that most men never comprehend.
This was a rape joke no question about it, sorry if you're so removed that you can't acknowledge that. It doesn't have to be overt and actually say the word rape to qualify (although there's plenty of that to go around online); things can be racist without saying you believe whites are the supreme race. There's that quote by Margaret Atwood that really sums up the complete dissonance that most men never comprehend.
MegaKungFuRadio
Member
Meanwhile, #girlwood? Fuck this industry.
Portugeezer
Member
I thought it was awkward, but not because of some rape joke existing only in peoples minds...
Fuck off.
Fuck off.
Okay, this is getting very silly.
Rape deals with penetration. There is no implication of penetration. There is however, an implication of assault seeing as the game deals with beating up one another competitively. Not sexual assault, just assault. If you want to say it's any kind of joke, it's an assault joke. The only reason that there is a rape context added is being of the people who have internalized the concept in an attempt to get rid of it in things like video games and other fields. There is no rape context beyond the one the person applies to it.
Rape deals with penetration. There is no implication of penetration. There is however, an implication of assault seeing as the game deals with beating up one another competitively. Not sexual assault, just assault. If you want to say it's any kind of joke, it's an assault joke. The only reason that there is a rape context added is being of the people who have internalized the concept in an attempt to get rid of it in things like video games and other fields. There is no rape context beyond the one the person applies to it.
brianjones
Member
the only reason I can see people going to rape cause it's a girl
The Librarian
Banned
Moved to new page.
Sparks an interesting discussion if the people propagating this "scandal" are part of the problem. Imagine if this did not spark a debate on 'rape', and we actually just felt sorry for these people that were nervous.
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